CD4, viral Load, & cbc counts

Dec 6, 2009

Good Afternoon doctor. I am having a hard time translating what my initial numbers mean for current health. I have a CD4 of 360, VL of 38000/4.58 log copies, and wbc @ 2.6. Through these numbers, is there a way to find out when I could have been infected and how fast the disease is progressing?

Response from Dr. Holodniy

Unless you have had prior HIV antibody testing that determines when you were last negative, the answer is no. Your WBC is low, your viral load is in the moderate range, and your CD4 count indicates a moderate degree of immune suppression, although this could be artificially low because your total WBC (and likely total lymphocyte count) are low. You should also be following your CD4 percent, as this is a more stable number over time than the CD4 count. Given those numbers, you need to be considering HIV treatment.

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